A New Years Custom
by WhiteMint
Summary: side story to The Imperial Princess. The Sannin may have retired and parted ways. But they still celebrate the New Years together.
Summary: side story to The Imperial Princess. The Sannin may have retired and parted ways. But they still celebrate the New Years together.

* * *

When Uchiha Madara secured his throne, the three members of the legendary Sannin decided to leave Konoha. The imperial city and country was in stable hands, and the three decided that Konoha no longer needed them there. They entrusted their home to the young king along with the younger generations and decided to retire. After all, there was no longer a need for them and they wanted to pursue their dreams.

Tsunade wanted to travel around to cope with the heartbreak from losing her fiancé and her best friend.

Orochimaru wanted to study all there was to know in the world.

Jiraiya wanted to become a best-selling author.

Even though they all went their separate ways, they made sure to always meet each New Year's. The three were best friends who would spend each New Year's drinking and enjoying each other's companies.

* * *

 **Inside a seedy tavern in Konoha**

"I thought you swore to never enter the palace again." Jiraiya hesitantly asked, eyeing the drunk blonde woman as she slammed down her cup after gulping the strong wine.

Tsunade hiccupped as she opened another jug of wine, ignoring how Jiraiya's eyes followed the hiccup, "I had to get something from the emperor for Sakura."

It wasn't like Tsunade had a choice. She wanted the best for her suddenly adopted daughter and even if it meant walking through the palace that her late fiancé worked in, so be it. It had taken all her willpower to walk around the familiar grounds with a straight face, and now she wanted nothing but to drown her mourning with alcohol.

"Is Sakura the girl you plan on adopting? The Haruno?" Orochimaru questioned, as he helped himself to a little of the wine Tsunade had brought back from the palace. Orochimaru was one who appreciated the fine things in life, with this wine being no exception. His friend had brought twenty jugs of it, and she was probably too drunk to notice if he snuck off with a couple.

"Shizune is bringing her right now." Tsunade grumbled, "She should be here soon."

And that was how Sakura met the three legendary Sannin. Inside a suspicious looking bar where no proper five year old should go to.

" _I refuse to come back to Konoha for our next meetings."_

" _How about somewhere warmer?"_

" _I heard of this one place that is tropical all year round."_

" _Sounds like a plan."_

* * *

 **At a tropical paradise in the middle of the dessert.**

The second time Sakura met the other two Sannin on her travels with Tsunade was when she was six.

The three were currently celebrating their next meeting at a small city in the Land of Wind which was known as The Oasis. And like its name, the city was filled with happy tourists swimming playing around in the sands or swimming in the cool waters.

Jiraiya gave a very unmanly giggle as he peered through the new contraption he bought. Being stuck in the middle of a desert, Suna was very well-versed in the art of glass making. By using the glass at specific curves, Suna had invented a tubular contraption that magnified sight and allowed one to view far distances.

"Ohohoho… The glass is super clear and I can see the details much better. It was definitely worth the gold buying this."

"Jiraiya-san, what are you looking at?"

Jiraiya stopped his preview of the women's bath as he glanced at the six-year old beside him. It was his turn today to babysit her and he had decided to take her along while he 'researched'.

"I'm appreciating true beauty Sakura-chan!"

"What's so beautiful about the women's baths?" Sakura had been to the baths many times with Tsunade-shishou and Shizune-nee-chan, so she didn't understand why Jiraiya-san was taking such great pains to look at it.

The two were currently kneeling behind a few bushes on a hill that overlooked the baths.

"True beauty is when you can see a women's 'S' shape. The baths are the best way to see." Jiraiya distractedly explained, as he continued looking through his lens. Damn fog, it was getting in the way.

"Jiraiya-san! Do I have a 'S' shape?"

Jiraiya looked away from his scope, and nearly had a heart attack.

Sakura had taken off her dress and was trying to pose as if she was sitting on the side of the bath. The only thing covering her was her white sleeveless undergarment that covered her like a thin dress to her upper thighs.

"Sakura-chan! Please put your clothes back on."

As Jiraiya tried to convince the girl that she was too young for the 'S' shape and should put on her clothes, that was when Orochimaru found the pair.

Seeing a near naked Sakura with a flustered Jiraiya, Orochimaru immediately felt murderous. The tropical drink he had been casually sipping on spilled as his hands crushed the coconut shell cup.

It was one of the few times Jiraiya thought that he would lose his life.

As Jiraiya tried to explain the misunderstanding, Orochimaru ignored him while he calmly helped Sakura back into her small red dress. Once Orochimaru finished making sure the girl was properly covered, he slowly walked towards the pervert who was nervously trying to look innocent.

That day was when Sakura learned of the terms 'hentai' and 'pedophile'. It was also the day that Sakura was ordered to never address the man's name with any sort of formality, since he was a 'disgrace to mankind'. She didn't really understand why, but did as she was told.

" _Next year we should go somewhere with snow."_

" _What? All the women will be bundled up with winter clothes!"_

" _That's the point."_

" _Sure, it'll make it more like New Years. I want to drink hot sake under a kotatsu."_

"… _You two never care about my opinion huh?" Jiraiya complained from where he sat. He was covered in bandages from head to toe and each of his limbs had a cast on to set the bone. His current state was from the pummeling Tsunade gave him after Orochimaru told her what had happened._

" _Be lucky we're still friends with you." Was the reply his two friends simultaneously gave him._

* * *

 **Sitting in a kotasu and the finest inn in the Land of Iron**

"Isn't this place a bit too cold?" Jiraiya grumbled as he peeled an orange. A blizzard was howling with icy fury at the moment and every citizen was huddled indoors.

"The point of the cold is to enjoy the warmth of indoors." Orochimaru calmly replied. He was at the moment inspecting the katana he recently purchased. It was a fine blade indeed. As expected of the Land of Iron, home of the samurai.

"Why do you care if we're stuck inside? Aren't you writing a book anyways? Drink some of the hot rice wine, it's amazing!" Tsunade countered Jiraiya's grumbles as she studied the drink the inn keepers had served their table. The jug of rice wine was set over a small flame, keeping it nice and hot to enjoy. She wanted to buy one of these contraptions for her hot sake.

"But I can't do research just sitting here… I need inspiration!"

Sitting at a separate table from the Sannin, twelve year old Kabuto was chatting with seven year old Sakura.

"Ok Sakura-chan, do you remember what I've taught you?" Kabuto sternly spoke, as he pushed his glasses up.

"Yes! Kabuto-nii!" Sakura replied with a smile, "If any man acts suspicious, I need to kick them between the legs!"

Kabuto gave the little girl in front of him a small smile, "Good job Sakura-chan. And you must remember to do the same with Jiraiya if he even comes close to you."

As Sakura tilted her head in confusion, Jiraiya cringed at their conversation, "What have you been teaching your apprentice?"

"Everything he needs to know to properly babysit Sakura." Orochimaru replied with a disdainful sniff at Jiraiya's direction as he continued polishing his new blade.

Tsunade glanced at the two kids sitting at the kotatsu next to them, "Why did you suddenly want an apprentice?"

"He's an orphan that I picked up. He seemed pretty smart to me." Orochimaru replied. He mumbled under his breath but the other two didn't hear, "But he's not cute at all like Sakura-chan."

" _Next time somewhere less cold please!"_

" _There are those islands near the Land of Fire…"_

 _Glares "…"_

" _I said_ _ **near**_ _! Not_ _ **at**_ _the Land of Fire!"_

* * *

 **Eating Seafood at a Restaurant**

"Uwahhhh! The sake pairs well with these clams! The Land of Waves has the best seafood!" Tsunade grinned, her cheeks starting to form a blush from the alcohol.

"I hate you guys… There's too much mist everywhere. Can't see anything." Jiraiya groaned as his head fell on the table with a 'bang' sound.

Orochimaru finished chewing his sashimi and looked at the complaining white haired man, "You wanted somewhere less cold, and it's less cold here."

"But my research!" Jiraiya grumbled as he broke a crab leg, venting his frustrations.

At that moment, Sakura walked into the restaurant, each of her hands was holding onto another, "Tsunade-shishou! We found this bridge with a funny name!"

Tsunade looked up, "Oh? What was it called?"

"The Great Fishcakes Bridge!"

Eight year old Kimimaro tugged on Sakura's left hand and whispered into her ear, "It's called The Great Naruto Bridge."

"Oops!" Sakura giggled, "I mean the Naruto Bridge!"

"Kabuto!" Orochimaru pointed his chopsticks at the young boy holding Sakura's right hand.

"Yes!" Kabuto saluted.

"Any issues?"

"Nope. Touring the city with Sakura and Kimimaro was peaceful."

"Good. Remember to keep her safe."

Jiraiya eyed his raven haired friend with a curious glance, "I thought you hated kids. Why another apprentice?"

Orochimaru grunted, "Another orphan. He has an interesting kekkei genkai." And under his breath, Orochimaru muttered, "He's as cute as Sakura-chan, but so serious. I'm really bad at picking apprentices…"

" _I'm picking the next place!"_

" _Are we going to regret this?"_

" _The Land of Hot Water!"_

" _We're going to regret this."_

* * *

 **Wearing the Casual Yukata Provided by the Hot Springs Inn**

"How was your visit to the temple? Did you properly greet the New Years?" Tsunade asked her nine year old student as they all settled down to eat lunch. It was udon noodle soup with the inn's famous soft boiled onsen eggs.

"Tsunade-shishou! We met this really weird apprentice monk!" Sakura chimed, her eyes wide with excitement.

"A monk? How was he weird?" Tsunade replied, one eyebrow raised.

"He was weird because Kabuto-nii covered my ears whenever he talked! It was funny hahaha!" Sakura giggled in reply, as she mimed the action on the glasses wearing young man sitting next to her.

That brought Orochimaru's attention, as he gave his apprentice a curious glance.

Kabuto answered his silent question, "The man had a very… Colorful vocabulary."

" _All right, it's my turn to pick next place. I heard this one country has a giant turtle that I want to research."_

" _You mean the Land of Lightning? Yes! There's hot springs there too!"_

" _My research is far more important than your pathetic excuse of study."_

* * *

 **In the Banquet Hall of the Raikage's Palace**

Kabuto frowned as he studied the blonde sixteen year old, while the other teen did the same. Eyeing each other for a good minute, Kabuto finally broke the ice.

"She's like a little sister to me, so I'm not going to give her away to the likes of you."

Shi gave an arrogant scoff, "Who do you think you are, just because you're one year older than me. I can take you on any time."

Ten year old Sakura was oblivious to the showdown as she happily laughed and chatted with Kimimaru, whose usually blank face had a small smile.

The Raikage A, who was hosting the large banquet, did however manage to see the two teenagers glaring at each other, "Hahaha! Good! I like it! Real men should always find rivals!"

Orochimaru casually glanced at the kids sitting at side of the banquet tables, "I'm sensing a tiny bit of bloodlust. I think rivals might be too simple a term."

Tsunade perked up as she looked at the two teens glaring at each other, "Are they going to fight? Should we bet who will win?"

"Obviously Shi/Kabuto" two voices simultaneously spoke up.

"…" "…"

Jiraiya was unfortunate to break the glare between his best friend and the Raikage with his untimely words, "Two hot blooded youth, fighting over to see who will win the beautiful flower. This sounds like a perfect story!"

The sight of Jiraiya flying across the banquet table finally stopped Shi and Kabuto from their snarky battle of words.

"You are NOT going to write a book based off my daughter!"

" _So, I've recently acquired a country, how about I host the next meet up?"_

" _Geez, only you would casually say 'acquired a country' like it's not a big deal."_

 _Shrugs "I needed to settle down, and build a decent research lab."_

* * *

 **Outside the Palace of Otogakure**

Eleven year old Sakura was running through Orochimaru's herbal fields with Kimimaro while Kabuto silently watched the two. In one of her hands was a small wooden flute while her waistband had a couple of bells dangling.

"You're studying music for combat? How is that going to work?" Tsunade frowned as she sipped on her rice wine. As expected as the land once called Land of Rice Paddies, the rice was excellent in quality.

"Since a loud enough noise can break eardrums, I want to see what other uses sound can be used on the human brain."

"Then the flute and bells you gave Sakura…"

"Prototypes. Harmless, but they sound nice. But speaking of Sakura, how about staying in Sound? I was thinking of training her to learn the arts of disguise and hiding."

"That's fine with me. Are there any casinos in Sound?"

"…"

* * *

Hello my dear readers!

If hope you guys like this short story too lol. I had a lot of fun writing it.

Fun fact: I accidently wrote 'Tonkatsu' instead of 'Kotatsu' in the beginning. I seriously had to google 'japanese heated table' to find the right word.

Also, I know I got the age wrong since I'm guessing Naruto was like 12 when it was dubbed "The Great Naruto Bridge" but I put it as built when Sakura was 8. But I thought it would be fitting for her to be so young and cute by getting the name wrong.

I also did a subtle introduction of a new character that has yet to appear in the main story. Did anyone manage to catch it?

Cheers,

WhiteMint


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